MALAYSIA: IRANIAN MAN ESCAPES DEATH SENTENCE

January 26, 2012: A 27-year-old Iranian man escaped the gallows in Malaysia after the High Court acquitted and discharged him from a charge of trafficking 371 grammes of syabu two years ago.
Judicial Commissioner Datuk Ahmad Nasfy Yasin made the decision after he found the prosecution, represented by DPP Mohd Radzi Abd Razak, had failed to prove a prima facie case against Mostafa Kamalabadi.
Mostafa, who was represented by lawyer Datuk N. Sivananthan, was alleged to have committed the drug offence at the Narcotics Branch of the Customs Office, Kampung Jijan, at 11.53pm on June 11, 2010.
The offence under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 is punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same act which carries the mandatory death sentence if convicted.
Ahmad Nasfy in his judgment said there were conflicting evidence from the prosecution witnesses on the alleged possession of the drug by the accused. (Sources: Bernama, 26/01/2012)